Torque Wrench Questions

[gbarrett]

I'm hoping to assemble my engine tonight and tomorrow. I usually borrow a torque wrench from a friend. I was in the Discount Auto and Advance Auto stores amd saw that they each had one for around $50. I know these are not Snap-On quality, but I don't have a need for one very often. Would one of these be ok for the occasional use I have?

Thanks,

Greg

[YJason]

Take a look at the locking mechanism on the poundage selector. That is the biggest difference. If you can live with it then get the cheaper one. I find that with the cheaper ones I can twist the selector when torqing down on something, resetting the poundage. I like the Kobalt ones(from Lowes, Kobalt is made by Snap-On, too!). And at around $94.43, the price isn't too bad. Check it out: Kobalt Torque Wrenches (http://www.kobalttools.com/Kobalt/product/k_productList.asp?CATALOGID=Kobalt_Torque_Wrenches ).

[jeepbob]

I have a very expensive Snap On and a $20 flea market Tiawanese jobber and believe it or not when the Snap On man brought his calibration rig in one day the Tiawanese was closer to spec than the Snap-On. I was not a happy camper! The Snap-On man did replace my wrench but the tiawanese wrenches are not too bad for the occasional user. They are real close to the actual torque readings and were in acceptable range for Snap-on torque wrenches.

[nograin]

I think I paid around $85-90 for an S-K 3/8" drive torque wrench at one of the local parts stores.

I had a "great neck" brand one I had bought in similar desperation, and it fell apart more or less. I had recallibrated it by putting in a bench vise and putting weights on the handle..then making a little chart so I would know what the actual torque was at each marked setting. Plus it didn't work at all in the CCW direction...if you own older Chryco products that can be problem.

To save money, I would go with a better quality beam style rather than a cheap quality click style.

My .02

[64Trvlr]

I'd recomend buying the best you can afford. Especially when building engines as you NEED to positivly know that every bolt is torqued correctly. As they say you get what you pay for. Maybe you can rent a good one until you can buy a good one. Once you have one they come in handy for many things so I think it's a good investment. :cool:

[Joker's '88 GW]

When I changed the rod bearings on Beauty, I needed to ensure that I had the caps torqued to the right level. I considered buying one of the $35 cheap wrenches at the parts store and instead spent $80 on a Craftsman Torque Wrench.

I have been real happy with the quality of this wrench. As a matter of fact, it is on loan right now to someone that is rebuilding his BMW engine.

I have only used it for the one job, but it is mine and is here when I need it. That is the best part.

[jeepbob]

If you guys ever saw the tolerance on torques at the auto plants and saw what they torque with, then you would know even a Tiawanese torque wrench is good enough unless you are building precision race motors. The factory tolerance is actually quite loose which is why the torque to yeild head bolts came about.

[64Trvlr]

Jeepbob that may be so at the factory. But I don't have the money the factories have to fix the ones that slip through slightly out of spec and die. I'll just keep doing mine by the book and using a good accurate torque wrench. The piece of mind is worth it to me. :cool: